The post spurred my interest because (a) the guy who posts is a serious trainer in jiu jitsu so what he has to say is usually worth reading and (b) his query was titled “keylock from the guard” which is, for better or worse, one of my most effective submission attacks.
But the move described was too complicated for most others to follow, leading to cries of “simplify!” within only a few responses. As one poster put it:
there is only a small place for these type of moves in an elite game, when was the last time you seen marcelo, glover, fowler, jacare, or roger win a match with thses types of moves, STICK TO THE BASICS AND DRILL THE sh*t OUT OF THEM!
And still yet another:
The upper echelon bjj guys typically aren't trying for flying submissions, crazy setups, or anything like this. They use the stuff that you learn in your first six months of training. Armbars, triangles, RNC, etc. The difference is that they see these submissions from any position.
Marcelo wins with chokes and the occasional armbar. Roger wins with the same stuff. Jacare wins with ankle picks and kimuras. Attack the neck. Attack the arms.
It’s the equivalent of having a good jump shot and a solid to-the-basket move in basketball. Sure, there are a lot of fancy maneuvers out there. And with the NBA playoff season getting near, we’re sure to see a lot of them. But if you’ve got a dependable jump shot, and can take the ball to the hole, you’re going to do just fine (offensively at least) on any court you walk on to.
The same is true with jiu jitsu. The way to get to “roll-with-anybody” status is to have the best possible foundation of basic moves. I was thinking about this I was going over my half-guard work. I realized that there are really only three basic things I want to do from half-guard: tackle, twist or take-the-back. When I’m in half-guard, I need to be constantly keeping this in mind: is he vulnerable to the tackle? Is he vulnerable to the twist? Is he vulnerable to getting his back taken? 1-2-3, all the time, rifling those options through my head as I test the guy’s balance and reaction.
Like Marcelo said, stay on the attack. I was watching some of the Ultimate Fighter season three marathon yesterday and heard repeatedly “don’t just hang out!” The point was don’t just sit or lie there. You might think you need time to rest or to think or whatever. But you are also giving your opponent time to rest or think or whatever. Keep the pressure on and keep the attack on.
And one way of being able to do that when you are tired is to keep your attack sequence simple—as opposed to some huge, complicated mental puzzle that you’ve got to unravel every time you find yourself in a new position.
